Jonathan Pryce
| birth_place = Holywell, Wales | honorific_suffix = CBE | nationality = Welsh | residence = London, England | occupation = Actor, singer | years_active = 1970–present | spouse = | children = 3 }} Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime girlfriend, English actress Kate Fahy, in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s. His work in theatre, including an award-winning performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatre's Hamlet, led to several supporting roles in film and television. His breakthrough screen performance was in Terry Gilliam's 1985 cult film Brazil. Critically lauded for his versatility,Shenton, Mark (15 October 2007). "Jonathan Pryce ". Broadway.com in London. Retrieved 10 November 2007.BWW News Desk (20 November 2005). "Jonathan Pryce Confirmed To Step Into 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 10 November 2007. Pryce has participated in big-budget films including Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Pirates of the Caribbean as well as independent films including Glengarry Glen Ross, The Age of Innocence, Carrington, The New World, and The Wife. His career in theatre has also been prolific, and he has won two Tony Awards—the first in 1977 for his Broadway debut in Comedians, the second for his 1991 role as The Engineer in the musical Miss Saigon. Initially in 2015, Pryce was a guest actor in the HBO series Game of Thrones as the High Sparrow before becoming a main cast member in 2016. Since early 2017, he stars in the series Taboo, playing the role of Sir Stuart Strange. Early life Born John Price in Carmel, Flintshire, he is the son of Margaret Ellen (née Williams) and Isaac Price, a former coal miner who, along with his wife, ran a small general grocery shop. Pryce has two older sisters. He was educated at Holywell Grammar School (today Holywell High School), and, at the age of 16, he went to art college and then started training to be a teacher at Edge Hill College (now Edge Hill University) in Ormskirk. While studying, he took part in a college theatre production. An impressed tutor suggested he should become an actor and, on Pryce's behalf, applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for an application form; Pryce was awarded a scholarship to RADA. When he joined Equity he used Jonathan Pryce as his stage name because Equity will only have one actor with any particular name on its books."Jonathan Pryce". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2007."Jonathan Pryce Biography". Tribute.ca. Retrieved 28 October 2007.(16 August 2002). "I always wanted to be a pop star...". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2007. While at RADA Pryce worked as a door-to-door salesman of velvet paintings.(8 October 2007). "Why Jonathan Pryce is right for Mamet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2008. Pryce was part of a 'new wave' of actors to emerge from the Academy. Others included Bruce Payne, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh and Fiona Shaw. Despite finding RADA "straight-laced", and being told by his tutor that he could never aspire to do more than playing villains on Z-Cars,(10 July 2001). "Life with lots of Doolittles". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2008. when he graduated he joined the Everyman Theatre Liverpool Company, eventually becoming the theatre's Artistic Director and went on to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the Nottingham Playhouse.(6 March 2007). "Jonathan Pryce is Sherlock Holmes". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2007."Jonathan Pryce Mini Biography". Ön Sayfa. Retrieved 28 October 2007. To gain his Equity card to work in Liverpool, he made his first screen appearance in a minor role on a 1972 episode of the British science fiction programme Doomwatch, called "Fire & Brimstone". He then starred in two television films, both directed by Stephen Frears, Daft as a Brush and Playthings. After the Everyman, Pryce joined the director Sir Richard Eyre at the Nottingham Playhouse and starred in the Trevor Griffiths play Comedians in a role specially written for his talents, Gethin Price. The production then transferred to London's Old Vic Theatre and in 1976 he reprised the role on Broadway, this time directed by Mike Nichols, for which he won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, his first Tony Award. It was around this time that he appeared in his first movie role, playing the character Joseph Manasse in the film drama Voyage of the Damned, starring Faye Dunaway. He did not, however, abandon the stage, appearing from 1978 to 1979 in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio, and Antony and Cleopatra as Octavius Caesar.The RSC Shakespeare – Plot summaries, The Taming of the Shrew . Retrieved 18 June 2008.The RSC Shakespeare – Plot summaries, Antony and Cleopatra . Retrieved 18 June 2008. Career 1980s In 1980, his performance in the title role of Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre won him an Olivier Award, and was acclaimed by some critics as the definitive Hamlet of his generation."Performance history of Hamlet ". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 6 November 2007"Laurence Olivier Awards: Past winners ". The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 6 November 2007. That year, Pryce had a small but pivotal role as Zarniwoop in the 12th episode of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, one that he reprised for the Quintessential Phase which was broadcast in 2005. In his original role as Zarniwoop, Pryce's character questions the "ruler of the Universe", a solipsist who has been chosen to rule arguably because of either his inherent manipulability, or immunity therefrom, on his philosophical opinions. Around the same time, in 1980, he also appeared in the film Breaking Glass. In 1983, Pryce played the role of the sinister Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes, based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same title. After appearing mostly in films, such as the Ian McEwan-scripted The Ploughman's Lunch, and Martin Luther, Heretic (both also 1983), he achieved a breakthrough with his role as the subdued protagonist Sam Lowry in the Terry Gilliam film, Brazil (1985)."Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (Brazil #13) ". FilmSite.org. Retrieved 26 November 2007. After Brazil, Pryce appeared in the historical thriller The Doctor and the Devils (also 1985) and then in the Gene Wilder-directed film Haunted Honeymoon (1986). During this period of his life, Pryce continued to perform on stage, and gained particular notice as the successful but self-doubting writer Trigorin in a London production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in late 1985."Jonathan Pryce's Biography ". The Theatre Royal Haymarket website. Retrieved 26 November 2007. From 1986 to 1987 Pryce played the lead part in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth, which also starred Sinéad Cusack as Lady Macbeth.The RSC Shakespeare – Plot summaries, The Tragedy of Macbeth . Retrieved 18 June 2008. Also in 1986 he starred in the film Jumpin' Jack Flash. Pryce worked once again with Gilliam in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), playing "The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson". The film was a notorious financial fiasco,Robert Parish, James (2006). Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops. Wiley. with production costing more than $40 million, when the original budget was $23.5 million."Losing The Light – Terry Gilliam & The Munchausen Saga (a summary)". Hal Leonard Online. Retrieved 6 November 2007."The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 November 2007. The following year Pryce appeared in three of the earliest episodes of the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, alongside Paul Merton and John Sessions,""Whose Line is it Anyway?" – Episode Guide – Series one (1988)". WhoseLine.net. Retrieved 26 November 2007. and in Uncle Vanya, again a play by Chekhov, at the Vaudeville Theatre. 1990s After a series of major dramatic roles on stage, including Vanya and Macbeth, Pryce decided he wanted to do musicals after seeing his friend Patti LuPone in the original London production of Les Misérables.Shenton, Mark (15 June 2008). "Q&A – Jonathan Pryce ". Broadway.com in London. Retrieved 15 June 2008. He would successfully return to the stage originating the role of The Engineer, a Eurasian pimp, in the West End musical Miss Saigon. His performance was praised in England where he won the Olivier and Variety Club awards,"Jonathan Pryce Biography". Allocine.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2007.O'Keefe, Robert (20 September 1999). "Miss Saigon 10th Anniversary show 1990 Review". London Theater Guide Online. Retrieved 26 November 2007. but when the production transferred to Broadway the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) would not allow Pryce to portray The Engineer because, according to their executive secretary, "the casting of a Caucasian actor made up to appear Asian is an affront to the Asian community."Rothstein, Mervyn (8 August 1990). "Union Bars White in Asian Role; Broadway May Lose 'Miss Saigon'". The New York Times. Cameron Mackintosh, the show's producer, decided to cancel the $10 million New York production because, he said, he would not let the freedom of artistic expression be attacked.Rich, Frank (10 August), 1990). "Jonathan Pryce, 'Miss Saigon' and Equity's Decision (page 3)". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. Realizing that its decision would result in the loss of many jobs, and after Pryce received much support from the acting community (both Charlton Heston and John Malkovich threatened to leave the union if Pryce was not allowed to perform) the AEA decided to make a deal with Mackintosh, allowing Pryce to appear in the production. He would then, in 1991, win a Tony Award for his performance. . Retrieved 6 November 2007.Rothstein, Mervyn (19 September 1990). "Dispute Settled, 'Miss Saigon' Is Broadway Bound". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. Made in the same period, Pryce starred in the ITV mini-series Selling Hitler (1991) as Gerd Heidemann. Pryce returned to the London stage the following year to star for one night only at the Royal Festival Hall for an AIDS charity alongside Elaine Paige and Lilliane Montivecchi in the 1992 revival of the Federico Fellini-inspired musical Nine."De 8 et 1/2 a Nine ". RegardEnCoulisse.com. Retrieved 9 December 2007. (French) Pryce featured, alongside Kathy Burke and Minnie Driver, in the BBC serial Mr. Wroe's Virgins (1993), directed by Danny Boyle. Pryce played Henry Kravis in the HBO produced made-for-TV movie Barbarians at the Gate (1993). He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and for a Golden Globe Award for his role.Nellie Andreeva "Trio elemental for HBO's 'Zinc'", Hollywood Reporter (AP), 21 June 2007 Also during 1993, Pryce starred alongside River Phoenix and Judy Davis in the unfinished film Dark Blood, but production had to be shut down when, 11 days short of completion, Phoenix died from a drug overdose."Dark Blood". RiverPhoenix.org. Retrieved 6 November 2007. Director George Sluizer, who owns the rights to what has been filmed, has made available some of the raw material, which features Pryce and Phoenix on a field in Utah, on his personal website."Videos". George Sluizer's official website. Retrieved 19 November 2007. Between 1993 and 1997, Pryce, on a multimillion-dollar contract became the spokesman for the Infiniti automobile marque in a series of American television commercials, in particular for the Infiniti J30 and Infiniti Q45. In one of these advertisements Pryce appeared alongside jazz singer Nancy Wilson in a Prague nightclub.Meredith, Robyn (13 June 1996). "The Media Business: Advertising;Infiniti chooses artsy ads with musings about the meaning of life to sell its luxury cars.". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. In 1994, Pryce portrayed Fagin in a revival of the musical Oliver!,Jones, Kenneth (10 March 2006). "Playbill.com's Brief Encounter with Jonathan Pryce ". Playbill. Retrieved 9 December 2007. and starred alongside Emma Thompson in the film Carrington (1995), which centres on a platonic relationship between gay writer Lytton Strachey and painter Dora Carrington. For his portrayal of Strachey, Pryce received the Best Actor Award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Pryce then starred with Madonna and Antonio Banderas in his first musical film, Evita (1996). In this adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical, Pryce portrayed the Argentinian president Juan Perón. The movie's soundtrack was an international success. It contains over 30 songs sung mainly by Madonna, Banderas and Pryce, of which two are solos for Pryce: "She Is A Diamond" and "On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada". After Evita, Pryce went on to portray Elliot Carver in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). During the rest of the decade Pryce would play to his new acquired fame as a villain, portraying an Irish terrorist in Ronin (1998), a corrupt Cardinal in the controversial Stigmata (1999) and, for Comic Relief, the Master in the Doctor Who special, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. About this time Pryce sang at the Hollywood Bowl alongside opera singer Lesley Garrett in highlights from My Fair Lady and in 1998, he performed in Cameron Mackintosh's gala concert Hey, Mr Producer!, also as Professor Henry Higgins from My Fair Lady and reprising his role as the Engineer from Miss Saigon. 2000s During the early 2000s Pryce starred and participated in a variety of movies, such as The Affair of the Necklace (2001), Unconditional Love (2002), What a Girl Wants (2003), and Terry Gilliam's aborted project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. While the success of some of these films was variable, the 2001 London stage production of My Fair Lady and his portrayal of Professor Henry Higgins was acclaimed by observers.Thomas, Rebecca (22 March 2001). "Fair Lady's luvverly show". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2007. This production turned out to be very stressful for Pryce because Martine McCutcheon, who portrayed Eliza Doolittle, was sick during much of the show's run. McCutcheon was replaced by her understudy Alexandra Jay, who would also fall sick hours before a performance, forcing her understudy, Kerry Ellis, to take the lead. Pryce was understandably upset and on her first night introduced Ellis to the audience before the show by saying "This will be your first Eliza, my second today and my third this week. Any member of the audience interested in playing Eliza can find applications at the door. Wednesday and Saturday matinee available."(10 July 2001). "Life with lots of Doolittles". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2008. Pryce ended up dealing with four Elizas during the course of 14 months. Despite the difficulty, the show was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards on 2001: Best Actress in a Musical for Martine McCutcheon, Outstanding Musical Production, Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical for Pryce. Pryce lost to Philip Quast, although ironically McCutcheon won in her category having played fewer performances than any of her understudies. Pryce did express interest in doing My Fair Lady in New York, but when asked if he would do it with McCutcheon he said that "there's as much chance of me getting a date with Julia Roberts as doing My Fair Lady in New York with Martine McCutcheon."(18 March 2003). "Work with Martine again? I think not". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2008. In April 2003 Pryce returned to the non-musical stage with A Reckoning, written by American dramatist Wesley Moore. The play co-starred Flora Montgomery and after premiering at the Soho Theatre in London was described by The Daily Telegraph as "one of the most powerful and provocative new American plays to have opened since David Mamet's Oleanna."Connema, Richard. "American Premiere of Wesley Moore's A Reckoning is a Challenging Father/Daughter Confrontation". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved 15 June 2008. Pryce had a role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), in which he portrayed a fictional Governor of Jamaica, Weatherby Swann, a film he has described as "one of those why-not movies." After Pirates, Pryce appeared in several large-scale motion pictures, such as De-Lovely (2004), his second musical film, a chronicle of the life of songwriter Cole Porter, for which Kevin Kline and Pryce covered a Porter song called "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". The Brothers Grimm (2005), Pryce's third completed film with Terry Gilliam, starred Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, and The New World (2005), in which he had a cameo role as King James I. In 2005, Pryce was nominated for another Olivier Award in the best actor category for his role in the 2004 London production of The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, where he played Martin, a goat-lover who has to face the recriminations of his cheated-on wife, played by his real-life wife Kate Fahy. Pryce's performance was highly praised, but he lost the Olivier to Richard Griffiths.Clover, Brian (19 April 2004). "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?". Curtain Up. Retrieved 19 January 2008.Loveridge, Lizzie (4 February 2004). "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?". Curtain Up. Retrieved 19 January 2008.(21 February 2005). "The Olivier Awards 2005 ". The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 19 January 2008. Pryce lent his voice to the French animated film, Renaissance (2006), which he stated he wanted to do because he had never "done anything quite like it before."Milling, Robin (21 September 2006). "Jonathan Pryce puts his voice on ". Artisan News. Retrieved 16 November 2007. He reprised the role of Governor Weatherby Swann for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). Both were filmed at the same time but released a year apart."Chapter 7 – Return to The Bahamas ". Pirates of the Caribbean, Full Production Notes. Retrieved 10 November 2007. Pryce returned to the Broadway stage replacing John Lithgow, from January to July 2006, as Lawrence Jameson in the musical version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.(20 November 2005). "Jonathan Pryce Returns to Broadway Stage ". eWoss News. Retrieved 5 November 2007. During early 2007, the BBC serial Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars was first broadcast with Pryce in the lead. From September 2007 through June 2008, he returned to the theatre portraying Shelly Levene in a new West End production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo Theatre, London.de Jongh, Nicholas (10 October 2007). "Blackmail, greed, despair ... a tale for our times". Evening Standard (London). Retrieved 15 June 2008. He later appeared in the BBC Three comedy series Clone as Dr. Victor Blenkinsop also starring Stuart McLoughlin and Mark Gatiss. In 2009 he appeared at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in the title role of Dimetos written by Athol Fugard, and later that year made a sentimental journey back to Liverpool to appear as Davies in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker directed by Christopher Morahan. This transferred to London's Trafalgar Studios in early 2010. On television he appeared as Mr Buxton in Return to Cranford (2009), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Mini Series. In 2015 he joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as the High Sparrow. Pryce admitted that one of the main reasons he took on the role was because of how influential the character is plot-wise. While initially being quite sceptical about "sword and sorcery" shows, Pryce later had a change of heart after his positive experiences on the Thrones sets. In 2015 he also appeared at The Globe Theatre as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. His real life daughter Phoebe played Shylock's daughter Jessica. In 2015, he joined the cast of The Healer starring with Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Camilla Luddington, and Jorge Garcia. Personal life While working at the Everyman Theatre in 1972, Pryce met actress Kate Fahy whom he married in 2015. They based their home in London, where they currently live. They have three children: Patrick (born 1983), Gabriel (born 1986), and Phoebe (born 1990).Jonathan Pryce Film Reference bio Retrieved 28 October 2007 In 2006, Pryce was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Liverpool.Honorary Graduates of the University. He is a fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music & DramaHonorary Fellows of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.LIPA Companions He is a patron of the children's charity Friendship Works and of the surgical charity Saving Faces. Pryce was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours. Filmography Film Television Stage Awards and Honors Theatre Awards Tony Awards Olivier Award Drama Desk Award Film & TV Awards Other works *''When Love Speaks'' (2002, EMI Classics) – Shakespeare's "Sonnet 65" ("Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea") *''HR'' (2009, BBC) – a five series comedy drama series on BBC Radio 4. *Read from The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald for the film Patience (After Sebald), directed by Grant Gee. * Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – a video game in which he portrayed Field Marshal Robert Bingham * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – a video game based on the film in which he reprised his role as Governor Weatherby Swann References External links * * * *Jonathan Pryce – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, March 2006 *Jonathan Pryce interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 25 May 1990 }} Category:1947 births Category:Alumni of Edge Hill University Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Living people Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners Category:People from Flintshire Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Tony Award winners Category:Welsh male film actors Category:Welsh male musical theatre actors Category:Welsh male stage actors Category:Welsh male television actors Category:Welsh-speaking actors Category:20th-century Welsh male actors Category:21st-century Welsh male actors